Desires
by Jennyphillips1980
Summary: AU - Derek is new to Seattle, his path crosses with Meredith who currently desires all of the wrong things in life. Meredith is manipulative and ruthless, and takes no casualties... Will Derek break through her tough exterior or become her latest victim?
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my second story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Greys Anatomy or Private practice and I am not responsible for the creation of the characters in my story... I am mainly borrowing them in an attempt to entertain you guys.  
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**This Story is completely AU and Derek is going to play the innocent party whilst Meredith will play the villain. I am going to attempt to write Meredith like I have never written or seen her written before and I hope that you will all enjoy it and fasten your seat belts for the ride. I am 100% Merder so all I can ask is that you trust me...**

Chapter 1

"Good Morning…" Derek greeted the older looking woman sitting behind the desk in the administration block of the hospital. He couldn't help but smile, she reminded him of his Mom. His Mom who was now hundreds of miles away in another state. A state which he had just left for a new start, that morning to be precise. "I'm Derek Shepherd. I'm here for a meeting with Chief White."

"Oh yes of course, Dr. Shepherd, the Chief's expecting you. I am Patricia, by the way, I am sure our paths will be crossing lots. When you are done with Bill, stop off to see me before going and I will have your lab coat, scrubs and ID badge waiting for you."

"Thank you, Patricia, that would be great."

"Your office will be ready tomorrow, I have not had the time to get maintenance in there yet to hoover."

"That's no problem… you don't have to get them to do that, I can hoover."

"I see your Mother raised you right, but I won't hear of it…" Patricia began but got interrupted by a voice coming from the hallway.

"Ah, I see, so this is why my new surgeon is late… I should have known Patricia…"

"Oh you hush, Bill."

"Derek, it's good to see you… I hope Patricia has been looking after you." Bill moved to pull Derek into a man hug.

"It's good to see you too, Bill. And Patricia has been great…" Derek patted him on the back. Before pulling back and winking at Patricia.

"Come on, let's head to my office. Patricia can you hold my calls for the next hour."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Shepherd…"

"The pleasures all mine, Patricia, and please we are not on the surgical floor, it's Derek…"

* * *

><p>"I was sorry to hear about you and Addison."<p>

"Thanks, Bill, I guess it just was not meant to be."

"It's a shame, you two seemed like the dream team back when you were students. I used to watch you together sometimes during your clinicals. A part of me was envious."

"Well that's understandable… You were going through a hard time with Diane at the time. I am sorry I didn't make the funeral, Addie and I had a high profile VIP at the practice, we couldn't get out of it."

"That's ok, Shep… I got the flowers, Diane would have loved them. I was touched that you remembered they were her favorites."

"I only had to order them on your behalf half a dozen times…" Derek chuckled and so did Bill.

"God, ten years… can you believe it?"

"Time flies. You still miss her, don't you?"

"I don't think I will ever stop but it has got easier…"

"Time is a great healer, they say…"

"Well, yes, that and other things…"

"Oh yes that's right… You got remarried, didn't you?"

"Yes, we just had our 8 year anniversary."

"And she makes you happy?"

"Tremendously… I would be happier though if her and Alex got along better."

"They don't get along?"

"Alex took his Mom's death really hard. He didn't agree with me moving on so quickly."

"You have a right to be happy. And if you have found someone who makes you happy like Jean did, you were right to take that chance. Not everybody is as lucky to find love twice."

"You will fall in love again Derek… you are still young."

"I know, I have not written myself off yet. I am sure…" A knock at the door suddenly interrupted Derek.

"And for once he is right on time…"

"Who?"

"Come in…" Bill shouted out and the door swung open.

"Oh my God, Mark! What are you doing here, man?" Derek asked in a shocked tone as he stood up from his seat.

"Surprise… I would like you to meet my Head of Plastics, Shep…" Bill stated as Mark walked over, pulling Derek into a man hug and patting him on the back.

"Welcome to the city, Derek, where it not only rains but pours." Mark chuckled pulling back.

"I don't believe it… What happened to your practice in LA?"

"You are not the only one who can sell up. Chief here made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"I certainly did. And I cannot believe I finally got you two out here working for me."

"Just how long have you been out here Mark?"

"About 8 weeks now…"

"8? 8 weeks? I saw you 5 weeks ago at Mom's in New York, for Christmas."

"Well, we all thought it would be a nice surprise for you."

"You got the word surprise right…"

"Well, Shep, I thought that Mark could have the honor of being your tour guide…"

"Geez thanks, Chief…" Mark snorted.

"Oh come off it, Sloan, you know you are happy to do it. You stopped negotiating for more money the second you learned Derek had signed his contract."

"So not true…"

"Don't worry, Mark, I know that you couldn't live without me forever…"

"Sssh man, you don't want to say that out so loud… I have a reputation to protect here, I don't want people to get the wrong idea…"

"So you are already up to your usual tricks then?"

"Oh yes, and the women here are hot!"

"You know, I don't think anyone would believe that I employ him to be a surgeon, Shep…" Bill's phone started ringing. "Guys, I had better get that, it must be important if Patricia put it through. Enjoy your tour, Shep… Sloan, behave, and I will catch up with you guys later."

**Please leave me a review**

**Jen**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Meredith was currently stood by the nurses' station waiting for an explanation from the resident in front of her, as to how her interns had managed to allow two of her patients' test results to get mixed up. Teaching incompetent doctors was a part of her job that she really hated. And that part was rearing its ugly head a lot lately because to her all of the current interns and residents were incompetent, and in her opinion they were not fit enough to breathe in the same air as her.

She took in a deep sigh, silently counting to ten as she listened to the resident stutter and um and ah…

"For God's sake, Dr. Yang, would you just spit it out? I don't have all day!"

"Of course, Ma'am, I am sorry…"

"Look, I don't want your apologies… I just want you to ensure me that you have your interns under control and that they are not going to mess around with my patients again. This is a hospital we are running here, not a kindergarten."

"I know, Ma'am, and I can guarantee it's not going to happen again… I am really sorry…" Even as the words came out, Cristina silently berated herself. This wasn't who she was but there was something about the 'Attending bitch' as they all called her that always managed to reduce her to a stuttering mumbling mess whenever she was in close proximity to her. It was not the fact that she was a bitch and had a well-known reputation for making even the strongest male run crying to his mummy. She was a Surgical Cardio Goddess and Cardio was all Cristina had ever wanted to do. She had an overwhelming need to impress her but to date all she had managed to do was humiliate herself.

"And you are supposed to be the resident to watch…? Well I don't think even God himself is going to be able to help us…" Meredith said as she started to giggle but even as the giggle began it quickly ended. "Just take your interns and clear up the mess they have created and you had better start praying that the patients don't sue, or mark my words, it is going to be your ass on the firing line. "

"I- I…"

"Save it, Dr. Yang. Now just get out of my sight! Oh…" Meredith began as Cristina started to scurry off with her interns. "Lesson number one, you want to be taken seriously as a surgeon… learn not to stutter."

"Yes, Ma'am." Cristina said in a grateful tone managing not to stutter, before she disappeared around the corridor with her interns.

Meredith turned around feeling slightly satisfied with herself, as another small giggle escaped her body but left just as quickly as she came face with Dr. Sloan and… _hmmm, some definite man candy. _She thought to herself as her eyes passed over the well-defined muscular chest and abs of the specimen standing in front of her.

"So I see you are still torturing residents and interns then…" Mark chuckled.

"And I see you are still just as annoying," Meredith said with a smirk yet her tone of voice was clearly masked with irritation.

Derek stood there looking between Mark and the mysterious woman watching their exchange with amusement, he was completely in awe. Women usually bowed at Mark's feet, this one, however, looked as if she wouldn't even be bowing at the gates of heaven. Derek wondered for a second whether or not it was because she was a jilted ex of Mark's. However, as Mark's flirtatious attempts went on it was clear that she was not one of his conquests. Derek was completely mesmerized by her; her hair was almost golden, there was a complete natural beauty about her, it was obviously clear that she never needed make up and she had the most captivating deep green eyes that he had ever seen. As his eyes met hers head on, she completely took his breath away.

"Earth to Shep…" Mark said as he nudged his shoulder.

"Huh… Sorry…" Derek shook his head as if trying to clear the daze that had appeared to wash over him.

"I was just saying I would make introductions," Mark nodded his head in Meredith's direction. "So…" Mark began to make the introductions, however, Meredith interrupted him as she held her hand out to Derek.

"Meredith."

Derek took Meredith's hand as he told her his first name and was momentarily stunned once again as an electric current appeared to run through him as soon as their skin touched. He thought he saw Meredith flinch slightly too, indicating that she had also felt it, as their gaze once again became locked on one another. Mark's booming voice interrupted their moment, causing them to let go of each other's hands.

"Wait a second, he gets to call you Meredith?" He asked in a whiny voice.

"Yeah, why not?" Meredith asked.

"I met you first and you made it clear that I am not allowed to call you by your first name."

"Well, there is a big difference… I like him and I don't like you." Meredith said with a smirk across her face.

"But you only just met him."

"Yeah well, I am a good judge of character."

"I think that's questionable…"

"Hey, what's wrong with me?" Derek asked interrupting the banter between the two of them.

"Apart from the crooked nose and the afro… There is clearly a reason why I am the favorite son."

"You two are brothers?" Meredith asked in a shocked tone.

"Kind of, Mark here adopted himself into my family when he was 5. His parents abandoned him, we have not been able to get rid of him since."

"At least you had smart parents, Dr. Sloan, my opinion of you just went up a notch," Meredith giggled.

"You are a bitch you know that," Mark declared.

"Well, I might have been told that once or twice," Meredith said as if she was extremely proud of that fact. "So Derek," she turned her attention back to him as she allowed Mark to lick his wounds. "Are you here just visiting or…"

"Actually, I have just accepted a position in the neurosurgery department here…" A huge smile graced his face; since laying eyes on Meredith, he had become even more certain that his move there was the best decision he had made in a long time.

"Ah yes, of course, Dr. Derek Shepherd, you are the new head of neurosurgery."

"Wow and now I am impressed."

"Put it this way, I like to do my homework…." Meredith said in an incredibly flirtatious tone, just as her pager went off. "Damn… carnage in the pit, I have to go. I will see you around, Derek." She briefly nodded her head in departure at Mark before throwing a smile back in Derek's direction.

"See ya." Derek shouted after her as if he was in a trance, he watched her movements pick up into a jog down the corridor as her pager began to beep again.

"Man, you might just want to pick your chin up off the floor."

"Huh?"

"What is it with you, man?"

"I think I just met my soul mate…"

"Ahem, ahem…" Mark said around a cough as he slapped his chest. "You don't wanna go there…"

"Why? You think she is out of my league?"

"Well, yeah… but it's not just that, she is married…"

"What?"

"Oh yes, and to a good friend of yours too, you just met Dr. Meredith White… Bill's second wife."

**I would really love your opinion on my story so far... Love or hate it please leave a comment...**

**Thanks**

**Jen xxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to those of you who posted a comment after the first two updates.**

**Update below sees a flirtatious Meredith in action.  
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Chapter 3

"Afternoon, Patricia, and what has you so out of breath?" Derek asked as he snuck behind the Chief's secretary as she was rushing behind her desk.

"Sssh, Derek, I am late and I don't want the Chief to know."

"Oh, I am sure he wouldn't mind, it is not as if you do not put in more hours than you are required. I have only been here for 2 weeks now and I have already seen that for myself. The hours you worked last week rival that of an intern."

"Well, it is a busy time at the moment with all the budgets to be finalized and submitted to the board. I like to make the Chief's job as easy as possible, he is a lovely man and a wonderful boss."

"Which is why he will not mind you being late."

"Yeah, well, it is not exactly him that I am worried about."

"Who are you worried about? The Chief is the one who pays your wages."

"Yeah, but he has someone else pulling his strings."

"I don't think anyone pulls Bill's strings." Derek chuckled as he remembered how fiery Bill used to be when he previously worked for him.

"Well, I take it you have not met the wife yet?"

"Who? Meredith?"

"Ah, you have, all I will say is to make sure you watch your back, Derek. That one is trouble."

"Ok, I will heed the warning," Derek answered in a tone which said he was just telling her what she wanted her to hear until he saw her raise her eyebrows. "Ok, I promise I will be careful around her."

"You are a good man, Derek, I can tell. I am a good judge of character and I just do not want to see anything ruin your career," Patricia told him with a pointed look.

"Why, thank you, Patricia, I like to think that I have made my Mom proud of me."

"I am sure you have. Now, anyway, what do I have the pleasure of seeing your handsome face for?"

"I am actually here to see Bill. He was expecting me a few minutes ago."

"Oh ok, well. why don't you just head straight him to him if he is expecting you. Don't let me make you late…" Patricia laughed.

"I will be off then…" Derek walked away from Patricia laughing. He really did like her, there was something about her which reminded him of his Mom. He was quite surprised about her opinion of Meredith though, but then a lot of people in the hospital didn't speak highly of her. So far all he heard was that she was a highly talented surgeon who worked flawlessly, he had witnessed that for himself a few times after observing some of her surgeries from the gallery, however, not many people had a kind word to say about her as a human being. She couldn't be that bad, otherwise Bill would not have married her. Derek took a deep breath to clear his thoughts of Meredith as they were about to enter a territory that they should not be going to, especially since he was about to meet with her husband - a man who he had the upmost respect for. He briefly knocked on the door before opening it and instantly wished that he had waited for a response.

"Oh God I am so sorry…" Derek immediately went to back out of the room as Meredith climbed off of Bill's lap and adjusted her skirt before her hands moved to button up her blouse; she had been straddling his lap on his chair and her skirt was hitched around her waist.

"Is it time for our meeting already? Sorry, the time ran away from me," Bill said in an extremely embarrassed tone.

"Oh, don't be embarrassed, honey, I am sure this sight is nothing that Derek has not seen before…. Isn't that right, Derek?" Meredith asked turning her attention to Derek, which kept him rooted to the spot.

"I- um…" he was momentarily stumped for words, especially as Meredith was continuing to button her shirt in front of him. He had seen a glimpse of her perfect breasts bursting out of the silk indigo bra that she was wearing. God, he wanted her…

"Honey, you are embarrassing the poor lad… Derek, come in and take a seat. Meredith is actually going to join us."

"Ok, are you sure you don't need me to come back?"

"Do you mind?" Meredith asked with a smirk on her face.

"I- um…"

"Derek, she is teasing you, come in and sit down." Bill shook his head at Meredith smiling, she never failed to amuse him.

"Oh, ok, as long as you're sure…" Derek exchanged a glance with Meredith and made his way over to one of the chairs in front of Bill's desk.

"Of course we are sure. Besides, I can always pick up where I left off later," Meredith said in a seductive tone. Derek felt his cock become even harder at her teasing; her statement was not obviously directed just towards her husband. Even though Derek could tell by the shade of red that his face went that he thought it was. He felt slightly ashamed of himself as this was his mentor's wife.

"Right, you sit down and behave yourself," Bill put his arm around Meredith and kissed her temple before he directed her to the chair that was next to Derek's. "I will be right back, I just have to go grab some documents that we are going to need."

"I always behave…" Meredith pouted as she sat down and caught Derek's eye before turning back to Bill. "Don't worry, I am sure Derek will be able to entertain me," she said with a smirk before continuing. "He must know all the gossip, all the nurses are hanging around him," she added causing Derek to blush furiously and not because of the second comment she had made either. The thought of keeping Meredith entertained by having her ride him in his chair had flashed through his mind without his permission.

"I thought you were going to behave yourself, quit teasing Derek about the nurses." Bill chuckled. "Right, I will be back in a few minutes."

Meredith watched as he exited the office and waited for him to close the door before she turned her attention to Derek. As she turned towards him she crossed her legs, causing her skirt to ride up a bit and expose a portion of her thigh. "So, are you going to entertain me then?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Ex- excuse me?" Derek coughed out.

"I am joking, calm down."

"Ah ok, of course…" he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead to catch the bead of sweat that he had broken out. She really was making him hot under his collar.

"Unless you would rather that I wasn't joking?" Meredith leaned closer towards him.

"What are you doing?" Derek gasped out, his entire body tensing at the same time as sparks of electricity rushed through him when Meredith placed her hand on his thigh.

"Did you like what you saw earlier?" she breathed into his ear, her hot breath on his neck was making his erection even harder and causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. Derek almost jumped out of his seat when he felt her hand graze over his cock. "Ah, this tells me that you liked it very much. And I like very much what you have to offer." The sound of Bill's footsteps heading towards the office caused Meredith to quickly jump back. "What's wrong, Derek? You look like you are going to combust," Meredith said with a giggle just as the door opened and Bill walked in.

"Sorry, that took a little longer than expected the copier was playing up."

"No problem darling, Derek was just telling me about a big problem that he has…" Meredith said in a serious tone but at the same time her eyes sparkled as Derek threw a shocked look in her direction.

"Oh really, what's that, Derek? Is there anything I can do to help?" Bill asked with genuine concern etched in his voice.

Derek now knew exactly what Patricia was on about and boy, was she right, Meredith was trouble. "No, it's ok, Chief, it's nothing that I can't handle," he said throwing a brief look at Meredith but found he had to break the eye contact quickly as he felt his trousers tighten even further when he noticed the challenging smirk that crossed her face.

"Ok, well, if it becomes too much for you to handle, let me know."

"Bill, he is a big boy, I am sure he is up to the job of handling the situation perfectly well."

Derek couldn't prevent the cough that escaped him, geez, was she trying to cause him to have a heart attack.

"You ok, Derek? Can I get you a glass of water?" Bill asked in a concerned tone.

"No, I am fine, thanks, but I do have to scrub in 45 minutes." He needed to get out of that room and away from Meredith as soon as possible. He already knew that his first point of call was going to have to be an on call room so that he could take care of his 'big problem', as Meredith had put it.

"Ok, I will get straight to the purpose of this meeting." Bill handed them some documents each.

"There is a chance for this hospital to become the first hospital in the entire country to receive full funding to create a full robotics operating room. We have already been shortlisted and will need to compete with 10 other hospitals from across all States. It will involve a number of trips away to conduct presentations and present research. Because of that reason I will not have the time to run our bid, so I would like you two to team up and work together to secure this."

Derek took one look at Meredith after hearing what Bill had said and knew that he was in deep trouble.

**Are you enjoying? Next update Meredith will continue to manipulate...**

**Please leave a review**

**Jen xxxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**THANK YOU to all of you who are commenting on this one, I really do value your opinion's especially as this is a new way in which I am writing Meredith compared to how I have written her before so I get nervous about posting.**

Chapter 4 "You want me"

"I guess I don't even have to ask what shit you pulled to get him to make you one of the people responsible for securing the funding for the robotics lab." Alex stated as he walked into the MRI viewing room and slammed down a chart on the desk, Meredith was in the room her back to him as she looked over some scans.

"Oh don't tell me you wanted to be in on the project?" Meredith burst out into a fit of giggles. "God we would not have stood any chance and your father knows that only too well. Which is why he obviously didn't ask you to work on the bid."

"More like you manipulated him in your usual manner, you know you really are nothing better then a common prostitute."

"Really that comment is getting rather old now. It just shows you do not have the level of intellect to come up with anything new. Do you think I actually give a damn what you think about me? Words stopped meaning anything to me a long time ago. You know you are still as pathetic as the day I met you. Only difference now is that you are bitter and twisted along with being pathetic."

"And who's fault is that? You have turned my father against me…"

"No you did that all by yourself, and we all know why that is, don't we? Because you are nothing but a spoilt brat who didn't get what he wanted."

"Oh yeah and what is it that I wanted?"

"Oh, we are playing that game are we?" Meredith said as she took a step towards Alex. "You know what you wanted, you wanted me, and you can not stand the fact that you lost out to your father, someone so much older…"

"You are delusional…"

"Oh am I now?" Meredith asked, looking around to make sure no one was about before she closed the gap between them and pushed her body against Alex's. "And by the feel of things Alex, you still want me don't you?" She could feel his cock beginning to stiffen against her and she looked at him, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"What are you doing?" Alex asked, his body stiffened but he didn't push her away. He had met Meredith first, they were the same age and were in the same class at Med school. He had been attracted to her from the first moment he met her but then she met his father.

"You want me Alex, I know you do…" Meredith gazed into his eyes, her eyes then looked down to his mouth in an attempt to seduce him. She knew it was working, she could feel his erection become harder as it poked against her and his breathing had become ragged. "You want me." She quietly repeated in a husky voice and just as Alex brought his head down and as his lips were about to brush over hers Meredith pushed her hands against his chest and recoiled from him. "See what I mean? You are entirely pathetic!"

"You Bitch!" Alex hissed as he ran his hands through his hair out of frustration, he was feeling sexually frustrated and at the same time he felt foolish for succumbing to her mind games.

"Come off it, how could I ever want someone like you? You make my skin crawl, you are not even half the man your father is and you are never going to be. I have had enough of you causing trouble for me and if you step out of line again I am going to tell your father what happened here…"

"Nothing happened."

"You mean apart from the fact that you just tried to kiss me?"

"You wouldn't say anything, you were the one who initiated it."

"You really want to test me on that theory? And lets face it, who do you think your father would believe? He would never believe you over me and besides there is the added fact that you look guilty as hell." Meredith smirked.

Alex could not even muster a response, he knew that she was right. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid, he had played right into her hands. He was suddenly taken out of his thoughts as he heard someone approach the room they were in and he turned in time to see his father arrive at the door way.

"There you are darling, I have been looking for you all over. Alex…" Bill nodded in greeting to Alex as he walked towards Meredith and kissed her on the lips. "Everything ok?" Bill asked in a concerned tone even though he went on to slightly make a joke, "you two are in the same room and there is not a war going on?"

"I think you are going to be surprised darling, Alex actually apologized to me…" Meredith made eye contact with Alex and enjoyed seeing his eyes go wide and his entire body stiffen. She had to bite her lower lip to stifle a giggle.

"You did?" Bill asked in shock as he turned towards Alex.

"Well I guess it was time, I have been doing a lot of thinking lately and Mom would want you to be happy and it isn't Meredith's fault that she isn't here. I have treated her a bit unfairly and life really is too short for all the bickering. And it is not fair to you Dad so if you both will allow me to, I really want to make it up to you. Please accept my sincerest apologies for my behavior over the last 9 years."

"Thank you Alex, that means a lot son…"

"Sorry it took so long." Alex thought he might as well play Meredith at her own game and turn it around to his advantage. If he could build his relationship back up with his Dad it may just get him written back into his will and in time he may be able to get revenge on Meredith.

"I was thinking that you guys should join me for dinner at the weekend."

"We would love to son, wouldn't we Meredith?"

Meredith looked at Alex with raised eyebrows, he was towing the line too well, which only meant that he was up to something. She would play along for now… "Yes of course, I look forward to it. And thanks again for apologizing to me Alex, it really means a lot. I have hated the fact that I felt as if I came between you and your father. I just want you both to be happy and more then anything I really hope that we can truly leave the past behind us. I want us to get along Alex, even if it is only for your fathers sake on your part. All I want is for your father to be happy and for you to be as well. I have a lot of admiration for you and I know it can't have been easy for you, losing your mother and then seeing your Dad move on." Meredith smiled at Bill. "The tension has not been good for your Dad, so I am so grateful to you for apologizing and for trying to build a bridge."

"Your welcome, I want that too. Look I have to get going as I have a patient waiting in the pit, but I will come and see you soon Dad to arrange dinner."

"I look forward to it son, thank you." Bill said with a smile. "See you soon."

"Me too Alex and once again thank you."

"No worries, it is about time that I finally grew up. Have a nice evening." Alex said as he departed.

Bill waited for him to leave the room and close the door before he spoke and at the same time he put his arms around Meredith's waist and pulled her towards him. "Was that my son?"

"I know, he left me speechless."

"You? Never…" Bill laughed and quickly captured Meredith's lips in a brief kiss. "I want you to be careful though," His tone suddenly turned serious. "I think he may be up to something…"

"I don't know, I think he was actually being genuine for once Bill."

"You my dear are far too trusting but thank you, it really means a lot that you are willing to forgive Alex and give him another shot for my sake, especially after the way he has treated you. You are such a compassionate person, it is one of the things that made me fall in love with you."

"I just want you to be happy." Meredith gazed into Bills eyes as her arms moved up around his neck and her fingers began to play with his hair.

Bill tightened his arms around Meredith's waist. "I am happy, you make me extremely happy…" He breathed out the last part as he bent his head down and captured her lips again bringing her into a searing kiss.

Meredith pulled away from the kiss before it could get too heated. "You make me happy too, so happy that if we were to continue that I would be unhappy as I would have to sit through a meeting feeling frustrated."

"You sure I can not help you out before your meeting?" Bill suggestively asked.

"I only wish I had the time." Meredith pouted as she looked at her watch. "Instead I am going to be stuck in a room going over a plan with Derek Shepherd, I should have met with him 5 minutes a go. You know Bill I would have been perfectly capable of securing the funding by myself."

"Come on darling give Derek a chance, he is a great guy and a very intelligent gifted surgeon. He shows a lot of promise."

"You mean he spends a lot of time styling his hair?" Meredith said with a pout she wanted Bill to believe that she hated the idea of working with Derek.

Bill laughed. "He does not, that really is a rumor, please honey just give him the benefit of the doubt for me?"

"Ok, but I have one question. Why did you make me pair up with someone else, did you not think that I could handle it alone?"

"Of course not, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind what so ever, that you would have been able to have handled it yourself."

"Then why?" Meredith smiled gently, she was impressed with herself he was playing right into her hands.

"Derek is new here I thought you would be the perfect person to help him settle in and I thought that he could become a good ally for you."

"You are the only ally I need."

"God I love you." Bill kissed her again, "but I still want you to work with Derek."

"Ok if you insist, I will work with him. But I am only doing it because I love you." Meredith smiled as she leaned in and she kissed Bill this time. "I had better get going as I am now very late."

"Ok, well I am heading home. What time do you think you are going to leave here?"

"Two hours tops, hopefully. I just need to pack up the scans in here before I can head off to meet Derek."

"Well I will be naked and waiting for you in bed." Bill slapped her ass as he lent in and kissed her before he headed towards the door leaving Meredith to finish up. "I love you." He called out as he exited the door.

"You had better be and I love you too." She shouted after him with a giant smile plastered over her face. She really was pleased with her self the events that had just taken place could not have gone any better then if she had planned them. She now had Alex under control and Bill… well he was always where she wanted him and now the path was clear for her to go after Derek. This really was a successful day.

**Please please let me know your thoughts**

**Jen xxxxxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the comments, I really do appreciate your opinions on this one.  
><strong>

Chapter 5

"So… how are you enjoying Seattle?" Meredith asked Derek as she strategically bit on the end of her pen, twirling it in her mouth and leaning forward slightly in her chair making her breasts stick out to their full advantage.

"It's- urm… it's great," Derek stuttered as he squirmed slightly in his chair, he was trying his hardest to not let their close proximity effect him. This was the first time that they had been alone together in the same room since the stunt Meredith had pulled earlier in the day in the Bill's office. "I am not sure I will ever get used to all the rain though."

"It grows on you, which shouldn't be a problem for you, after all I witnessed first hand earlier how familiar you are with things growing on you. How is your problem by the way?" Meredith nodded her head in the direction of his lap and giggled.

"You are terrible you know that? I almost had an heart attack earlier, what the hell were you playing at?"

"Awww poor Derek," Meredith reached her hand up and ruffled his hair. "I was having some fun, don't tell me that you don't know what that is. Maybe I read you wrong? You looked like the type of person who knew how to have fun."

"Oh I know how to have fun but there is fun and there is committing suicide. Your husband and somebody whom I have a huge amount of respect for, was just outside the room. You are a married woman and married women do not behave like that…"

"Really? Why don't you teach me how I should behave then?" Meredith lent forward and whispered in a husky tone, she placed a hand onto his cheek and turned his head to face her and her eyes devoured his lips.

"Meredith, don't…" Derek took a hold of her hand and removed it from his face, ignoring the sparks of electricity which shot through him as he moved back slightly in his chair.

"Don't what?" She asked coyly.

"Don't act coy, you need to stop playing these games…"

"But what if I don't want to stop? There is something between us Derek. I felt it the first moment I laid eyes on you. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel it too?"

"Ok… you're right, I do feel an immense attraction to you but I am not going to act on it. I can't, I owe Bill a lot and you are his wife, I will not betray him. And I also do not agree with adultery either."

Meredith could tell by looking at Derek that he was a decent guy, he had a conscience. There was no way that he was going to participate in her games with the way she was playing, she would have to try a different approach. "Wait a second who said anything about adultery? I happen to love my husband, there is no way I would cheat on him."

"But you just said…"

"Derek I can not deny that we share an attraction, one which I have not felt for anyone other then Bill in a really long time, but I won't act on it either. I was teasing you, just having some harmless fun and I was also testing you…"

"Testing me?" Derek asked in a puzzled tone with raised eyebrows.

"It is really hard for me, I don't make friends easily and I do not have many of them… The females in the hospital are jealous of me and the men just want in my pants. I also know that I don't give the women a reason to like me but I am ok with that. I have been alone for the majority of my life, well… until I met Bill but sometimes I do get lonely having no one else. And there is something about you Derek, I like you and was hoping that we could be friends but I also needed to be sure that you would not just be friends with me for only one reason."

"Ok," Derek was taken aback and somehow his attraction to her became more intense, he loved the way that she felt comfortable with him to be able to open up like that. He was just hoping now, that he would be able to stick to his guns and remain just friends with her. "I take it I passed your test then?"

"You did…" Meredith nodded her head. "So?"

"Friends?"

"Friends…" Meredith held out her hand to Derek, which he took and ran his thumb over the top of her hand. Meredith could see and feel the effect that their contact was having on him and she smiled as she thought to herself, that she now had him exactly where she wanted him to be. She just had to play her cards close to her chest.

"So… um, I guess we had better devise a plan of what we want to include in our bid?" Meredith said as she pulled her hand back from Derek's.

"Yep… Start with a plan." Derek breathed as he let her hand go, instantly missing the warm contact. "Have you had the chance to read over the brief in further detail since this morning?"

"I did," Meredith nodded her head. "One thing you will learn about me Derek is that I always come prepared…" Meredith smirked at him, "did you read through it?"

"I did, you will also learn that I always come prepared too." Derek flirted with her.

"Is that so?" Meredith asked with raised eyebrows.

"It most certainly is…"

Their banter was interrupted, much to Meredith's annoyance as the conference room door opened. "There you are man, I have been looking for you all over…"

"Dr. Sloan, do you mind? We are in a meeting." Meredith said as she glared at him.

"Is this a private meeting or can anyone join in?" Mark smirked, as he wriggled his eyebrows at Meredith, in a bid to flirt with her.

"You ever heard the saying that twos company and three's a crowd?" Meredith retaliated.

"Oh trust me, the last thing you would be thinking about is three being a crowd, if I was involved…" Mark suggestively said.

"Mark, that's enough…" Derek hissed, although he knew Mark was just being himself, he could now see what Meredith meant about the way that guys treated her and despite the front she put up, he knew she didn't like it. And if he was honest with himself he didn't like the way that Mark was flirting with her… he was jealous and he knew that he had no right to be. "Meredith was right, we are in a meeting, was it important?"

"What kind of meeting? Are we getting a VIP in? Who is it? Come on, you can not hold out on me." Mark walked further into the room and sat on the table.

"It's not a VIP Mark, now come on seriously… I will come and find you later."

Mark raised his eyebrows, "what other reason apart from a VIP does the head of Cardio and Neuro have, to be in a meeting?" Mark didn't openly admit it but he was concerned about Derek. He noticed the way Derek looked at Meredith and the way she looked at him, he didn't want Derek to do something that he knew that he would regret.

"God I knew you were annoying but you are really testing my limits right now." Meredith groaned.

"Oh I can certainly test them a lot more…" Mark said suggestively,

Meredith saw Derek stiffen at Mark's comment and his reaction to a previous comment from Mark had not gone unnoticed by her, it was time to up her game. "Geez, I am not a piece of meat you know!" Meredith feigned hurt and went to stand up, Derek gently grabbed hold of her hand.

"Where are you going?"

"Look he obviously has important stuff to tell you, we can meet tomorrow." Meredith gently took her hand out of Derek's hand and inwardly smiled to herself, he was buying her damsel in distress act.

"Look Mark, the chief has us working together on a project and we have got a lot of work to do. Meredith we really should make a start now." Derek smiled at Meredith before looking at Mark. "You were way out of line there man."

"Oh come on Meredith, you know I was messing around."

"That may be so but I don't think my husband would appreciate your sense of humor, do you? And remember its Dr. White to you…."

"Lets all just calm down here. Meredith, Mark was just being an idiot, he has a one-track mind but he is harmless, his mouth often engages before his brain does most of the time. Bill doesn't need to know, Mark apologize and as I said, I will come find you when we are done here."

"You're kicking me out?"

"Mark…" Derek groaned.

"Ok," Mark rolled his eyes at Derek before glancing at Meredith. "I am sorry if I offended you Dr. White, it was not my intention. I have the upmost respect for your husband and would never do anything that would hurt him."

"Ok, don't let it happen again Dr. Sloan." Meredith relaxed back into her chair as Mark made his way back towards the door.

"And Derek, I only wanted to tell you that we are off out tonight, meet me in the lobby at 9pm."

"What? Where are we going?"

"Joes, it's a bar across the street. I am going to introduce you to a few people."

"Ok I will be there, as long as this is not just a ploy for you to use me as your wingman."

"Shep, its you who needs a hand pulling not me…"

"Whatever… get out of here and I will see you in the lobby at 9."

"Ok behave yourself, and Mer- Dr. White, once again I am sorry if I offended you." Mark said in a genuine tone as he opened the door, although he wore a bemused look on his face. Granted he had not known Meredith all that long but he had been a hell of a lot more flirtatious towards her in the past and she had not batted an eyelid. He could not help but get the feeling that she was up to something and he just prayed that it had nothing to do with Derek or at least that Derek was not stupid enough to fall into whatever web she was weaving.

Derek waited until the door closed before he turned to Meredith. "Are you ok?"

"I am fine…" Meredith said, still feigning hurt.

"You are not really, are you? You know I was not just trying to save my best friends ass back there, he really is harmless and behaves that way with absolutely anybody."

"Maybe I did overreact, but…"

"It's hard for you, isn't it? I am sorry…."

"What are you sorry for? You have never acted like anything but a complete gentleman towards me."

"I know, I am apologizing on behalf of all the other men out there who cant resist coming on to such a beautiful woman."

"So you think I am beautiful?" Meredith teased and surprisingly for her, a blush made its way over her cheeks.

"You know you are," Derek's cheeks turned red, mirroring Meredith's. "Now quit teasing me…" Derek nudged her with his elbow, causing Meredith to giggle. "Now, that's better, you are smiling," Derek stated as he unconsciously moved his chair closer to Meredith's. "We can crack on with the planning… now where were we?"

"We were about to devise a plan…" Meredith giggled and smiled at Derek, she was feeling pretty pleased with herself, she was reeling Derek in nicely. As far as she was concerned he was like putty in her hands, damn she was good. At first she thought it would have been a lot harder but he seemed to be playing right into her hands. She knew of course that she had to keep an eye on Mark Sloan though, he had the ability to throw a spanner in her plans but that was not deterring her. She had eaten men like Mark before alive for breakfast, he really was no match for her.

**Really would appreciate your thoughts and if you would like a teaser from the next update please let me know.**

**Jen xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for the comments on the last chapter.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

"Can I get you your usual Mark?"

"Of course, only make that two… Joe this is Derek Shepherd…"

"Ah the infamous best friend who is practically your brother…"

"Isn't that sweet? Mark you missed me that much you have been talking about me over your scotch?" Derek chuckled.

"Sssh Man, we don't want people talking, I may have mentioned you were moving here that's all."

"Don't worry Mark I missed you too." Derek ruffled Marks hair.

Joe and Derek shared a laugh whilst Mark grumbled something that was inaudible under his breath. "Derek, its nice to meet you and as you may have worked out the names Joe." Joe offered his hand out to Derek. "I own this place so anything you need, you let me know."

"Thanks Joe, I will." Derek said as he shook Joes hand.

"I will just grab your drinks."

"Thanks Joe," both Mark and Derek said in unison.

"This is a really nice bar, I think Seattle just got even better."

"No Shep it just got better now," Mark nodded in the direction of the door as he waved towards two women who had just entered.

"Mark…" Derek groaned as he watched the brunette and the blonde approach them. He should have guessed Mark had an ulterior motive for dragging him out. He only hoped that whichever one of the two he was supposed to keep company for the night had at least one brain cell.

"You made it…" Mark said ignoring Derek to the women, as they approached.

"Yeah, sorry we are a little late Arizona's patient spiked a post op fever." The brunette apologized.

"No problem, we have not been here that long ourselves. Shep got held up in a meeting with the wicked witch of SGH."

"Ouch, poor you…" The brunette spoke again as she threw a sympathetic look in Derek's direction.

"It wasn't that bad…" Derek rolled his eyes at Mark. "And by the way seeing as Mark has forgotten his manners, I am Derek Shepherd, the new head of Neurosurgery," Derek held his hand out first to the brunette.

"Mark has manners?" The Blonde retorted causing both her and the brunette to giggle.

"Not nice Robbins." Mark pouted.

"Lexie Grey," The brunette said as she shook Derek's hand. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name," she blushed slightly whilst looking at Mark.

_[I]Ah,[/I] _Derek thought to himself, it was now obvious that he was being paired to the blonde for the evening, who wasn't actually that bad looking and she seemed nice enough. She had even managed to insult Mark so maybe the evening was not going to be a complete bore after all. "Nice to meet you too Lexie," Derek let go of her hand and turned to his date for the evening. "Arizona Robbins right?" Derek asked as he held out his hand to her.

"Derek Shepherd," She smiled as she took his hand.

"Sorry guys…" Joe appeared and put both Derek's and Mark's drinks down on the bar in front of them.

"No worries Joe." Derek said as he pulled his hand back from Arizona. "Can I get you something to drink?" He asked her.

"A cosmopolitan would be great thanks…"

"Urm and what about Lexie?" Derek nodded in Mark and Lexie's direction, who were otherwise engaged, he cringed slightly as Mark currently had his tongue shoved half way down her throat.

"She will have the same…"

"Can you also add two cosmopolitan's to Marks tab please Joe?"

"Sure no problem, give me a minute and the drinks will be with you."

"Thanks Joe."

"Don't worry," Arizona said as she moved in slightly closer to Derek. "You kind of get used to it…"

"What those two?" Derek nodded again in their direction with a puzzled frown on his face.

"Yep, for the past few weeks they have both been practically inseparable."

"Seriously?" Derek questioned.

"You look shocked." Arizona giggled.

Derek smiled at Arizona, there was something about her giggle that was comforting, it was not as captivating as Meredith's but it was friendly and it put him at ease. "Well Mark is not usually the type to stick to one woman…"

"I am right here you know…" Mark suddenly said from beside Derek, he and Lexie had obviously decided to come up for air.

"I am sorry Lexie…" Derek apologized as he and Arizona shared a smile.

"No need to apologize Derek, I know what Mark was like…"

"Was?" Derek asked.

"What you trying to say Man?" Mark said as he put his arm around Lexie and pulled her into him. "You are not the only one who is capable of a monogamous relationship."

Derek looked at Mark carefully for a second and he noticed for the first time that there was something completely different about him, for the first time ever in his life he looked as if he was in love. "Wow, well done Lexie, I would say that you have done almost the impossible. You have managed to tame the man whore." Derek added which caused Arizona to erupt into another fit of giggles, just as Joe brought Arizona and Lexie's drinks over.

"And I would say she certainly did a good job too," Joe remarked.

"Oh she sure did, cheers Joe," Mark murmured as he pulled Lexie into a brief deep kiss.

"Thanks Derek," Lexie said breathlessly as she pulled away from Mark briefly to take a sip from her drink.

"Your welcome," Derek replied as he picked up Arizona's drink and handed it to her, letting out a small groan as he noticed Mark and Lexie making out once again.

"You know what, why don't we go and grab a table?" Derek nodded his head in the direction of an empty booth. Lets leave the lovebirds to it.

"Sure, I think I would prefer that," Arizona began to make her way towards the table and Derek guided her by placing his hand onto the small of her back.

"So are those two always like that?" He asked as he slipped into the booth next to her.

"Mostly yes, which is why I usually avoid going out alone with them."

"Well I must say that I am really happy you decided to come along tonight and rescued me from them."

"I am happy I came along too, I wasn't sure at first. I am not one for being set up on blind dates but then I thought of some poor guy sitting there alone, having to watch them make out all evening."

"I would say that you rescued me from a fate worse then death." Derek chuckled.

"It was my pleasure and besides I knew I was onto a winning situation if the gossip from the nurses was anything to go by…"

"Oh yeah?" Derek raised his eyebrows. "And just what are the nurses saying?"

"Something about you being incredibly hot…"

"Really?" Derek smiled as Arizona violently blushed and threw her hands up in front of her face.

"Oh God… I didn't just that…" She groaned. "I can usually handle my alcohol better but I skipped lunch and when I don't eat anything, I am a complete lightweight…"

"So do you think I am hot?" Derek flirted with her, causing her to blush even further. He was not as deeply attracted to her as he was to Meredith but she seemed like a nice enough person and he liked her. And after all Meredith was completely unavailable, and the thought crossed his mind that if he was to get involved with someone else it might help him to lay to rest the developing feelings he had for his Mentor's wife.

"Oh you already know that you are hot… you know the nurses and interns already have a nick name for you…"

"They do?" Derek questioned with a bemused smile on his face.

"McDreamy… they are calling you McDreamy," Arizona giggled, she made a mental note to herself to try to control the excitement that was going through her. She really liked Derek and was immensely attracted to him but after everything that happened with Alex she knew she should take things slowly.

"McDreamy, huh? What about Mark, does he have a nick name too?" Derek laughed.

"McSteamy, they call him McSteamy…"

"Well I must say that I do prefer McDreamy, how about you?"

"Oh I totally agree with you there."

"Good, it seems like we are going to get along just fine then." Derek smiled and decided to ask her some questions to find out a little bit more about her. "So I already gathered from earlier that you work at the hospital, what department do you work in?"

"Surgery, I am the Head of Peadiatrics…"

"Ah the little people… it makes sense." Derek smiled.

"Is that a compliment?" Arizona nervously smiled.

"Most definitely, you're warm and kind and really bubbly, the type of person that kids would love. I am sorry I must admit that I am a little out of practice on the whole flirting dating thing, I got out of a long term relationship 3 months ago."

"You're doing great," Arizona placed her hand on Derek's as a feeling of relief washed over her, it seemed they had quite a bit in common. "I must admit I am a bit out of practice too, I have not been out of a long term relationship for that long myself, a little longer then you though, 6 months… but still out of practice."

"We make quite a team then…" Derek joked, he sensed that like his relationship with Addison, hers had also ended badly.

"I hope so, I mean um... oh damn…"

"Arizona," Derek grinned. "Relax I hope so too, I really like you…"

"You do?"

"Yes…"

"That's good, I really like you too, but Derek I don't want to rush into anything. I had my fingers burnt quite badly so… And I am not the type of woman who does one night stands either."

"Well that's good because I am not the type of man who does them either and I am all for taking things slowly and seeing where it goes. I got my fingers burnt too, so Arizona…" Derek begun but coughed he had become instantly distracted when the bell above the door rang and he spotted Meredith walk into the bar. He was momentarily stunned he had thought earlier that she was attractive but right now she looked absolutely drop dead gorgeous. He couldn't help but allow his eyes to wander over her body and take in her curves. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans that displayed her thighs and ass to their full advantage and a black top that hung off of her shoulder, exposing her black bra strap and not leaving much to the imagination. He felt his pants become incredibly tight as he took in the outline of her bra under the top. The top was practically see-through.

"Derek are you ok?" Arizona asked, just has Meredith had turned to look in his direction whilst she was standing at the bar. Their eyes instantly locked.

"Urm yep sorry… I think my drink went down the wrong way," Derek answered her but his eyes remained firmly locked with Meredith's and she had a quizzical look etched onto her face.

"You really are out of practice aren't you Derek?" Arizona giggled, well I am not above the woman asking if you are too shy to do so?"

"Ask?" Derek enquired gulping as he watched Meredith tilt her head back and swallow a shot, and for the first time he noticed a sadness that was etched into her features. He wondered what was wrong and desperately wanted to go over to see if she was ok, part of him was telling him that it was a bad idea but the scotch in him was saying that it was the best idea that he had, had all evening.

"Derek would you like to go out on a date with me?"

"A date?" Derek repeated his attention still heavily focused on Meredith. He needed to be distracted and thought that perhaps if he accepted the offer of a date he could go over and see what was wrong with Meredith just as friends and the knowledge of his upcoming date with Arizona would prevent him from doing anything stupid.

"Yeah you know, two people going out for a nice meal, good wine, enjoying each others company… Derek are you sure you are ok?" Arizona frowned. "Look if you have changed your mind about liking me…"

"No, no, honestly it isn't that… I am sorry, it just really has been a long time. Arizona I would love to go out on a date with you, what time do you get off on Saturday?"

"5 O 'clock."

"Well I am off at 6, shall we say 6.30 in the lobby? Is that long enough for you to get ready?"

"It definitely is, so it's a date…?"

"It's a date… and it looks like we are out of drinks, let me go and get us some more… same again?"

"Sure and whilst you are at the bar I am going to pop to the ladies."

"Ok, I will see you in a few then," Derek stated as he made his way towards the bar, to where Meredith was standing.

Meredith had heard Derek make plans with Mark earlier to come to Joes and she expected to see the two of them drinking together. What she had not expected was to see Mark making out with her so-called half sister and to see Derek sitting alone, and all cosy in a booth with Arizona. God that woman reeked of desperateness.

Meredith wished that she could do something to wipe the smug smile off of her face but that would be going against her game plan. So instead she decided that Arizona could become a part of her game, it made things more interesting and so she positioned herself strategically at the bar, keeping her eyes locked with Derek's as she enjoyed watching him get all hot under the collar. As planned when she threw back her shot of Tequila she saw the look of concern etched across his face at the sad look she had put on. And now it was time for her to up her game as she noticed that he was on his way towards her. When she saw him getting closer she fully faced the bar and looked at her next shot, which was already lined up.

"Hey," Derek murmured into the back of her neck as he approached the bar.

"Oh Hi, Dr. Shepherd…" Meredith almost whispered continuing to stare into her drink as has she tried to ignore the shivers of desire that she felt go down her spine.

"Earlier it was Derek…" Derek frowned. "Are you ok?" He asked as he leaned in closer.

"Sorry… I guess I am just really not good company at the moment. Look please don't let me keep you from anything…"

"You're not keeping me from anything…" Derek was surprised to see the glimpse of tears that had gathered in her eyes. "Meredith what's wrong? Are you here alone? Where's Bill?"

"Derek please I would really rather not talk about it…"

Derek decided to respect her wishes. "Ok. Look we don't have to talk about it but Mer if you do change your mind, I would only be too happy listen… after all we are friends again, you just called me Derek," Derek said smirking as he nudged her hip with his causing her to giggle. "Now that's better, that's the sound I like to hear." As he listened to her giggle, excitement coursed through him and he could not help but compare the way she laughed to the way Arizona did. When Arizona laughed he felt contentment, when Meredith laughed he felt a range of feelings from happiness that he had got her to laugh, to sheer excitement.

"Thank you Der," Meredith smiled at him. "I didn't think anyone would be able to cheer me up…"

Derek couldn't help but smile at the way she had shortened his name, the way it rolled off her tongue sounded just perfect. "I am glad I could help… are you really ok?"

"Yeah I am fine, or at least I will be… my friend tequila is also really good at cheering me up. Derek look… please don't let me keep you…"

"Shh…" Derek said, putting his hand on the top of her arm, just below where her top ended and revealed her shoulder. He knew that he should be getting back to Arizona but right now she was a distant thought. "I am right where I want to be, you are not keeping me from anything…" Their gazes locked onto one another but the spell was broken as the bell went above the door and in walked a man accompanied by a heavily pregnant blonde.

"That is just what I need…" Meredith hissed as she threw back a shot of tequila.

"Isn't that Alex, Bill's son?" Derek asked as he glanced over towards the man and at the same time he noticed that Meredith was not the only person who was unhappy to see the couple, he noticed the look that Arizona threw at them as she exited the bar.

"Yep that's Alex alright, you know him?"

"Not really he would hang around Bill at the hospital sometimes when I was doing my clinicals."

"You don't seem to have pleasant memories of him?"

"He was um… how can I put this nicely? He thought he was a bit privileged…"

"You mean he acted like a spoilt brat and that the world owed him for the simple fact that he was in it? Well let me assure you that not much has changed in all these years. Derek in case you didn't notice your date just left…"

"Yeah I noticed, she took one look at Alex and the blonde and took off. What is the deal there?"

"Don't you think you should go after her and ask her that?"

"She will be long gone by now and besides you're my friend and I am making sure that you are ok." Derek nudged Meredith's hip again with his, earning a small smile from her.

"Thanks, well I guess telling you won't do any harm. Alex and Arizona were engaged until she found out that Alex was cheating on her with Izzie, that's the blonde. It happened 6 months ago and she called off the engagement and Izzie left. Three hours ago Alex showed up at our house with Izzie in tow, she is 6 months pregnant with his child."

When Meredith mentioned the last part about Alex showing up at her house he saw her flinch and could tell that something had happened.

"Mer, what happened at the house?" He asked as he cupped her elbow with his hand.

"Derek it's a long story…"

"And one that you don't really want to talk about?"

"Not really…" Meredith said as tears gathered in her eyes once more.

"Ok I won't push you…" Derek rubbed her arm again, whist the previous look of concern was etched back into his features.

"Thanks, look I have to go…" Meredith breathed.

"Are you going to be ok?"

"Yep of course, I am a big girl you know…"

"I know it's just…"

"I know Derek," Meredith's eyes locked with his and she now rubbed his arm. "I will see you in work tomorrow." Meredith said as she started to walk off.

"One second… let me give you my cell number, text me when you get home. Just so I know you got there safely…"

"Sure, thank you…" Meredith breathed as she took her cell out of her pocket whilst her gaze was locked with Derek's and handed it to him.

After Derek handed the phone back to her they both said their goodbyes and Meredith left with a satisfied smirk on her face. She was feeling completely successful in her mission, it went even better then she could have ever anticipated.

**Would love to hear your thoughts, let me know if you would like a teaser from the next update. In the next update a secret will be revealed from Meredith's past.**

**Jen xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for your wonderful comments after last update, so happy that you are enjoying my version of Meredith (for now at least LOL)**

**In the update below Meredith will continue to manipulate but you will also learn a little of her past which may offer some reasons for her current behavior...**

Chapter 7

"I am in conference room 405, Are you going to be passing a coffee cart? You're almost there now… Ok mines an espresso, double shot please." Meredith giggled slightly. "Yeah well after the night I have had, I definitely need it… I am fine. No problem my caffeine fix will hold out for the queue. Great see you in five minutes…"

Meredith took in a deep breath as she hung up the phone, Bill was on his way and would be in the conference room at any second and Derek would be there in approximately 5 minutes, she had to act fast. She was praying that Bill didn't get stopped by anyone otherwise her plan just wouldn't work. It seemed as though the Gods were on her side for once because right on cue Bill appeared, now was action time… Meredith turned around slowly to face her husband being sure to advert eye contact with him.

"Good morning…" Bill exclaimed as he walked into the conference room and walked over to Meredith, pulling her into an embrace. He went to greet her with a kiss on her lips however Meredith turned her head and his lips landed on her cheek. "So someone is still in a mood, I take it?"

"Well… can you honestly blame me?"

"Meredith…" Bill sighed. "I don't want to fight, we did enough of that last night. I was hoping that you would have come home so that we could have made up… I missed you last night…" Bill breathed as his hand slipped down to cup Meredith's ass.

"Well there was an emergency here, and I am seriously not in the mood…" Meredith said as she reached behind her and pushed Bills hands off of her. "You think that's the answer to everything don't you?" Meredith pushed him away from her gently so that she could walk away from him.

"Well it could be and we could kill two birds with one stone..."

"Were you not listening to one word I said last night?"

"Meredith…" Bill groaned as he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "This isn't just your decision, my opinion counts too, you can't just say no and expect that to be the end, I get a say as well…"

"No actually you don't, it is my body and therefore it is up to me what I subject it too!"

"What you subject it too? Have you heard yourself? You are acting as though I am asking you to inflict yourself with a terminal illness!" Bill shouted as he began to raise his voice.

"Well it may as well be…"

"I can not believe you just said that…"

"What? It is true, you know I don't want this and I have not since…"

"Ah so this is what all this is about? I can't believe after all these years it is that what is holding you back. It is high time you got over it, why don't you talk to someone? I am sure then you will see things more clearly… and then we can finally be a proper family…."

"You are unbelievable, you know that…? I don't want to talk about it and no amount of talking to anyone is going to change my mind, it just isn't what I want." Meredith took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down as tears began to gather in her eyes. Derek was going to arrive any minute now… she just had to play this out for a few more minutes. "What happened to us already being a family? You said you respected my decision, that you wouldn't pressure me?"

"Well now I changed my mind… It takes two in a marriage, both parties have to give. And me not pressuring you is getting us nowhere…."

"And I wonder just what has bought about your change of mind? You know, you and Alex are pathetic! It is high time that you grew up!" Meredith shouted at him.

"Time that I grew up? Don't you think you should follow your own advice there? If you don't grow up soon we are going to run out of time… you know you are not getting any younger!" Bill hissed.

"I am your wife, not a God damn baby making machine!" Tears began to spill from Meredith's eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't want a baby!" Meredith screamed at Bill, and as if right on cue the door opened and in walked Derek, perfect she quickly thought as she took deep breaths.

"Oh God I am so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt… Meredith and I were meeting to go over the project. Meredith we can reschedule?"

"No you are alright Derek, come in. Meredith and I are finished for now. I think it is best that we both take some time to cool down," Bill directed at Meredith. "And there needs to be progress made on the project… Good lesson for you to learn Derek, leave your personal problems at home… We have a hospital to run. Meredith come and find me after…"

"I have a surgery…" Meredith simply stated as she wiped the back of her hand across her eyes and at the same time she saw the look of concern Derek sent her.

"Well after that then?"

"Look I will see you at home, after all you did just advise Derek to leave personal problems at home. I don't know how late I am going to be…"

"Ok, whatever… I suppose I will see you at some point then." Bill sighed as he made his way towards the door. "Bye Derek."

"Bye Chief," Derek said as he watched Bill exit and close the door behind him, before he turned to look at Meredith.

"So… How much of that did you hear?"

"A little bit, enough to get the gist… Sorry I knew that you were arguing before I came in, I could hear you from outside…"

"Oh great! So I suppose that, that means that everybody else heard too? That's just all I need."

"No actually for once you are ok, the corridor was completely empty and miraculously so was the nurses station."

"Really? Well thank God for small mercy's then…" Meredith sighed.

"Are you ok?" Derek asked, and as he walked towards her Meredith turned away from him and her Shoulders began to shake.

"Oh Meredith, come here…" Derek quickly placed the coffee on the table, turned back to Meredith and pulled her into a hug, he begun to rub his hand in small circles on her back. He hated the fact that she was so upset but at the same time he felt a little awkward and confused and he also didn't want to interfere but he could not just leave Meredith in the state she was in. He was in shock too as he was surprised that Bill had just left her in that state. Bill was his mentor and someone who he deeply respected however after the behavior he had just witnessed he was not sure how deep that respect still went. He just witnessed a side to Bill that he did not like.

Meredith relaxed into Derek's embrace and after a few minutes her sobs subsided and she pulled back. "Oh God I am so sorry," Meredith said in an embarrassed tone.

"Hey it's ok, you have nothing to be sorry about…"

"This isn't me, I usually don't cry… I am good at keeping my emotions in check, that is something that I had to learn very early on in my life…"

"I think everyone is entitled to breakdown once in a while, it just shows that you are merely human. And from what I witnessed it looks like you had every reason to break down." Derek wondered what she meant about having to learn early on in her life that she should keep her emotions hidden but he decided not to push her on it just yet.

"Maybe… thank you Derek." Meredith gave Derek a small smile. "Why did you come in? Earlier you said you heard us arguing before you came in, most people would have just waited outside…"

"I did for a while, I didn't want to interfere but it sounded like it was getting really heated and I could tell that you were upset. And plus not to mention I knew that the nurses station and corridor would not stay empty for long. I didn't want you two to have your personal business spread around the hospital, and the last thing a Chief needs is people to be gossiping…"

"Ah I see… so you did it just for Bill…." Meredith turned and started to walk away from Derek towards the table.

"Hey," Derek gently grabbed hold of Meredith's wrist. "I didn't mean it like that, Bill was an after thought… We are friends right? I wanted to help you out."

"Thank you…"

"No problem, I am here for you Meredith. I know that we have not known each other that long but I consider you a friend, you can trust me, anytime you need anything just let me know."

"What about Bill?"

"What about him?"

"I know that he was your mentor and everything, you two are close… I don't want to put you in awkward position and come between you."

"Don't be silly, yes Bill was my mentor, I respect him and I know that it is none of my business but standing in that hall and as I stood in this room after I interrupted you two I began to question the respect I had for him on a personal level… But I don't want you to worry about me and besides you two will work it out anyway."

"I hope so… He is a great guy Derek and I love him, its just he is so used to getting his own way at the hospital, he hates being told no. He expects everyone to obey his every command…"

"I can imagine but he can't expect to be able to pull that behavior with his family to?"

"You obviously didn't hear that part of the argument… as far as he is concerned he doesn't have a proper family."

"Meredith he was angry, you both were and when people get angry they say things they don't mean…"

"In my experience people say what they really mean."

"Not all the time, Bill loves you Meredith… you know I have never seen him so happy. He certainly didn't look as happy when he was married to his first wife."

"Was Diane sick when you knew Bill?"

"I first met Bill before she was diagnosed and he didn't look as happy as I have seen him looking with you."

"I used to think that but I am not so sure anymore…"

"Hey… you can't think like that," Derek rubbed Meredith's arm. "Come on let's sit down." He guided her over to the table and pulled out her chair before he gestured for her to take a seat. Derek waited for her to sit down before he took the chair next to her. "You two will be ok…"

"How? The only way I can see making him happy is by giving him what he wants…"

"A baby?"

"Yep, a baby…"

"And you definitely don't want one…? Have you never wanted children? Oh I am sorry, you don't have to answer that, it really is none of my business."

"No it's ok, it is just hard for me to talk about…"

"Is it why you were upset last night?"

"Yes… you see Bill has always wanted another baby, especially a son… he wants somebody to carry on his legacy…"

"But he already has a son, what about Alex?"

"As far as Bill is concerned Alex is a complete failure, a total disappointment to him. Alex is more concerned with money and status then anything else. Bill thinks he made a lot of mistakes with him, he spent a lot of time working and didn't pay much attention to him, he spoilt him with material things and he blames himself for how he turned out. He wants a new baby so that he can get it right and have a legacy which he can be proud of."

"That's not a reason to bring a baby into the world…"

"No… When we first got together I was young and so naïve and I desperately craved a family and security… My Mom's Dr. Ellis Grey and my upbringing is a completely different story, one for another day, maybe."

"Ouch…" The earlier comment that Meredith had made about learning to control her emotions from an early age now made perfect sense, he had met Ellis Grey a few times and he remembered thinking that she was the most emotionless person he had ever met.

"Exactly. Bill offered that to me, you know he was my tutor?"

"He was? Just how old were you two when you got together?"

"I was nineteen… and yes Diane was still alive, I am not that young… I can see you trying to do the math. I didn't mean for anything to happen between us, you have to believe that… and I hated the way things started."

"Hey it's not your fault, you were young and impressionable, these things happen. I am not judging you… Is that the reason you and Alex don't get along?"

"Partly but it is also because I chose his father over him. Alex was in some of my classes, we are the same age and he was always trying to come onto me but I made it clear that I was not interested. When he found out I was seeing his father he just couldn't handle the fact that I chose someone who was more then double my age over him."

"Well I suppose that would have been a blow to any males ego, but you can't help who you fall in love with."

"No you certainly can't. We were together for 2 years before Diane died and we got married two years after her death and after 6 months of marriage I wanted nothing more then to give Bill a baby." Meredith took a deep breath before she attempted to continue as tears began to gather in her eyes.

"Hey it's ok…" Derek took her hand, he could tell that whatever she was about to tell him she was having a difficult time in doing so. "Just go slowly… I am a good listener."

They shared a small smile as Meredith got control of her emotions and continued. "I fell pregnant immediately after I stopped taking my contraceptive pill, Bill was so happy, I was so happy… at 22 weeks we found out I was having a girl, my little princess. I decorated the nursery, spent every spare moment at the baby store and looking at baby names…" Meredith took another deep breath before going on. "When I was 28 weeks pregnant I was driving home from Med school when someone ran a red light and crashed straight into me.

I suffered a placenta abruption, they took me straight into the OR when I arrived at the hospital and performed a C-Section but it was too late, they couldn't find my daughters heart beat…" Meredith wiped a single tear from her cheek that had escaped.

"Oh my God… Meredith I am so sorry. Did you get to hold her?"

"I did… she was perfect," Meredith smiled weakly. "I named her Megan Rose, we buried her as soon as I was cleared to be discharged. Bill wanted to try again for another baby but I couldn't… I can't explain it fully…"

"It's ok, you don't have to explain anything…" Derek squeezed her hand tightly.

"Bill said that he accepted my decision not to have another baby, he said that as long as he still had me it was enough… That was of course until Alex showed up last night with Izzie announcing that they were getting back together and that Bill was going to have a Grandson. So of course the competition with Alex is back on."

"Meredith I don't even know what to say…"

"It's ok, you don't have to say anything, the last thing I want is pity."

"I do not pity you, what you went through was a harrowing experience and if you ask me Bill should respect your decision and be grateful with his Grandson. Try to talk to him away from the hospital hopefully he would have calmed down by later."

"I will and I hope he has…"

"You have my number now so if you need to talk, please text me or call… it doesn't matter what the time is.

"Thank you, you're a good friend. Possibly my only friend…" Meredith laughed bitterly. "You know it's weird I don't talk to anyone and that is the first time I have spoken about Megan in a long time…"

"Sometimes it's good to talk and I am happy that you confided in me… I promise it won't go any further." Derek looked at Meredith and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, tucking it behind an ear. His eyes locked with hers and he began to lean in, he had started to look at her in a completely different light now. Behind the tough exterior she hid behind was a woman who was deeply misunderstood by everyone and the emotional scars that she carried would have killed a lesser person. The attraction he felt for her had started to go a lot deeper then just being a physical one…

Meredith had been honest with Derek and if she actually took stock and thought about just how much she had opened up and confided in him it would have scared her. She saw the way which he was looking at her and the way he was beginning to lean in, she could have allowed him to lean in further and kiss her but then she knew he would have regretted it. It would have ended as just being a kiss and she wanted a lot more then that, she needed some excitement in her life and although she wanted nothing more then to feel his lips on hers, she had to keep control of her emotions and remember her game plan. Reel him in slowly… so backing out was no longer an option for him, until she said it was, so she pulled away… "I really do appreciate it Derek, thank you for listening, I am ok now…" She ran her hands over her eyes and gave Derek a small smile.

"You're ok…" Derek agreed as he brushed his hand over her hair.

"So I suppose we had better get on with our presentation…"

* * *

><p><strong>Please let me know your thoughts on this one...<strong>

**Jen xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Apologies for the delay in updating, real life hectic lately. Really hope you are still interested in reading this one. Below update is a bit of a filler, hope you enjoy...**

Chapter 8

It had been 3 days since her blazing row with Bill in the conference room, the one that she had purposely orchestrated for Derek's benefit and it had been 3 days since she had had spent any time alone with Derek. She had barely seen him other then in passing as they bumped into each other in the hallway, over the past few days the hospital had been manic and the influx of patients had kept every surgeon on his or her toes. Her and Bill had made up the very night of their argument, a few times over in fact, Bill had agreed to back off and she had lied to him by agreeing that she would not rule out the possibility of carrying his child in the future. She had no option but to settle for now, it was not in her interests to keep Bill mad at her and especially as Derek seemed to have awoken an itch within her that no amount of scratching seemed to relieve. She feared that the only one who would be able to offer that relief would be Derek himself but she knew that she had to continue to take things slowly, he had to be the one who made the first move. '_Speak of the Devil himself,' _She thought to herself as she noticed Derek walking towards her.

"Hey," Derek smiled as he approached her. "This place is a mad house…" He chuckled.

"Wow I am impressed it didn't take you that long to figure that out." Meredith giggled but she purposely toned it down so it sounded rather forced.

"You ok?" Derek asked as he frowned at her with a look of concern etched into his features.

"Yeah I am fine, just a bit exhausted I suppose, it has been a hectic few days. I think this has been the longest I have spent out of the OR whilst I have been at the hospital over the past few days."

"You sure that, that's all that it is? You can talk to me you know…" Derek nudged her elbow with his and smiled at her in an attempt to get her to open up.

"Thank you Derek. It's nothing really, it really has just been a tough few days."

"I know it is none of my business and feel free to tell me that but I have been worried about you and have been meaning to ask. How are things at home?"

"You mean between Bill and I?" Derek nodded and Meredith continued. "Things are still pretty strained at the moment we are simply just… co-existing." She sighed.

"Oh Mer, I am sorry…" Derek placed his hand on top of Meredith's hand as it rested on top of the nurses station and rubbed his thumb over her thumb.

"Thanks Derek, your support means a lot." Meredith gave him a small smile before she removed her hand.

"I tell you what, how about a drink after work to help cheer you up, Friends do that right? And you look like you could do with one."

Meredith smiled at Derek and found it difficult to keep the smile under control, she really was feeling satisfied with herself. "You are certainly right there, I could do with a few shots of tequila…" Her smile suddenly turned to a small frown as she had an internal battle with herself. She really wanted to accept Derek's offer of drinks, she enjoyed spending time with him but her head was telling her that she should decline this time. Her declining would make him even keener.

"I am sorry Derek, I can't tonight. I am actually planning on getting off at a decent hour, I think it is about time Bill and I sat down and properly talked."

"Oh… Oh ok I mean, I think that definitely makes sense you need to sort things out between the two of you for sure." Derek was momentarily stumped he was so disappointed that Meredith had turned down his offer of drinks. He quickly tried to mask his disappointment, something that he had no right to be feeling.

"I can't say I am looking forward to it but it has to be done. I will definitely take you up on that offer though for a drink another evening, that is if it is an open ended offer?" Meredith could see that Derek was openly disappointed and although it served her purpose she couldn't help but notice the niggling thought that she was affected by the way he was feeling, it was an emotion that she promptly pushed away and ignored.

"It is definitely an offer without an expiry date."

"Good. I will see how tonight goes and then we can arrange drinks for an evening next week?"

"That sounds good." What was he doing? Derek thought to himself, here he was getting butterflies in his stomach as he stood there arranging drinks with his mentor and bosses wife. He knew they were just friends and he knew that it was wrong but he couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect of being alone with Meredith outside of work. He was having an eternal battle with himself and he was relieved when Meredith changed the subject.

"So now that's settled," Meredith smiled. "I should update you on the project. "Now that we have decided which trial's and cases we were going to include and present as part of our bid, I took the liberty of speaking to Patricia last night…" Meredith paused briefly with a smirk when she saw Derek raising his eyebrows at her. "I was polite."

"I can only imagine…" Derek smirked back at her as he remembered his previous conversation with Patricia, he knew her feelings towards Meredith. He could just imagine Meredith trying to give her orders and just what her reaction would be when Meredith left. If the hospital had a swear box he bet that she would have single handedly filled it up.

"I was," She defended.

"Huh huh," Derek nodded as he continued to smirk and he turned around leaning his back against the nurses station, completely relaxing his body for a mere few seconds only as realized that they were openly flirting with one another, a situation which could be misinterpreted by a nosy passer by and he immediately stiffened his body and stood up straight again. This did not go unnoticed by Meredith.

One minute they were relaxed and were bantering the next Derek's body language had become detached and rigid, Meredith wondered what had caused it but instead of questioning what was wrong she simply raised an eyebrow at him and continued. "Anyway I asked Patricia to pull together all of the financials for those trials and cases, I thought it would save us some leg work. It is information that she would already have had, at some point she would have prepared it for Bill."

"That is a good idea, I am impressed."

"Well in that case, be prepared to be impressed a lot because I am just full of them."

Derek was about to respond further but Meredith's beeping pager interrupted them.

"Damn it's the ER they need a consult, no rest for the wicked I guess." Meredith said as she gathered the charts she had been looking over at the station and put them into a neat pile.

"I guess not," Derek quipped.

"Hey cheeky," Meredith hit his arm causing him to laugh.

Derek couldn't help but look into Meredith's eyes and then down to her plump lips, the look on her face and the sound of her laughter affected him in a way it should not and he wanted nothing more in that moment then to kiss her. He backed away from her and quickly pushed the desire aside as best as he could before bringing the conversation back to work. "When will Patricia have the information ready?"

Meredith saw the emotional turmoil wipe across Derek's features and she knew exactly what had caused it because she had felt what he had felt too, only her turmoil was for a completely different reason. She once again found that she was fighting an internal battle with herself, which she was not prepared to admit. "She should have it ready by this evening…"

"Wow that's quick… and you said you were nice to her?"

"What can I say I am efficient and I get results quickly," Meredith stuck her tongue out at Derek as she begun to walk away as her pager had gone off again. "And I didn't say I was nice, I said I was polite." She giggled as she walked off.

"I hate to think how the two differ in your opinion…" Derek shouted after her with a laugh, which only caused her to giggle more loudly. He watched her walk away and had to reprimand himself as his eyes of their own accord came to rest on her ass and took in the soft swaying of her hips, his groin began to feel uncomfortable. He knew his attraction to her was more then just physical and it was one he most definitely should not have. Right it was time to find that peads surgeon and make sure that they were still on for their date tomorrow night, he need someone to help take his mind off of Meredith and fast.

**Would be grateful to hear your thoughts...**

**Jen xx**


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